Guilt Trips and Confessions
by Animegod 197
Summary: Brock is pissed that Ash and Misty seem to care more about each other than about him. He confronts them and makes them admit things that cause them to seriously question their relationship. But is there an ulterior motive present? AAML.


It's Animegod197 again. Here's my second pokemon fic and my first attempt at a humor story. My younger brother helped me come up with this idea. I hope you like it. Review and tell me what you think. By the way, Brock is very OOC here.

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Ash, Misty and Brock were at Ash's house. Ash and Misty were watching TV, making small talk every so often. Brock however, had been sitting in the kitchen muttering to himself and getting progressively angrier. Misty was becoming worried. His behavior was beginning to unnerve her.

"Ash, what's wrong with Brock? He's been in the kitchen for hours, talking to himself."

"I don't know. Ever since we got here, he's done his best to stay away from us."

Suddenly, they heard his voice, loud and demanding. "Ash, Misty, get in here!"

The two looked at each other, both frightened at their friend's odd behavior. They got up and slowly went toward the kitchen.

"What is it Brock?" Misty asked cautiously.

"I need to talk to the both of you. Let's go outside."

Brock got up and went toward the door. Ash and Misty followed him outside.

"Ash, I'm scared," Misty whispered.

"Me too," he said.

They turned to face Brock, who was glaring at them.

"Separate," he said sternly.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"Step away from each other."

"Why?" Misty asked.

"STEP…AWAY," he repeated forcefully.

Ash and Misty nervously complied, taking a couple of steps away from each other.

"Oh no. I want you on opposite sides of me," he said.

"Brock, what's going on?" Ash asked, a trace of fear in his voice.

"Did I stutter? I said get on opposite sides!"

The two grew silent and did as they were told.

"Good. Now, there's something very important I need to discuss with you."

Brock saw that Ash and Misty were looking at each other in fear rather than listening to him.

"Don't look at each other, look at me!" he said. They turned back to Brock.

"Brock, what is this about?" Misty asked.

"I'm glad you asked. However, I want to talk with Ash first."

He turned to Ash, an angry look on his face. "Ash, what the hell is wrong with you?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" Ash responded, genuinely confused.

"Oh you know very well what I'm talking about."

"No I don't. I don't understand why you called us out here or why me and Misty can't stand next to each other."

Brock's glare only intensified. "Alright Ash, I'll spell it out for you since you're too stupid to figure it out on your own. Why do you care more about Misty than me?"

"WHAT?" Ash shouted.

Misty wanted to ask the same question, but was too shocked to say anything.

"You heard me."

"Brock, why would you ask that? I care about both of you equally. You're one of my best friends."

"Bull. You've shown more concern for her than you ever have for me."

"That's not true!"

"Oh really? Would you like me to name the times where that's happened?"

"Yeah, name one time!" Ash challenged.

"Alright. Do you remember when those Gyarados attacked us after the St. Anne sunk and we escaped?"

"Yeah."

"We washed up on an island filled with giant pokémon. You were the first to regain consciousness, correct?" Ash nodded. "And the first thing you did was rush over to Misty and try to shake her awake. I believe your exact words were, 'Misty! Misty, wake up!' You were almost in a panic, from what you told me. When she did wake up, you must have calmed quite a bit, because the only thing you said to me was 'Hey Brock'."

Ash looked completely shocked when Brock finished.

"By your actions, you were much more worried for Misty than you were for me. Explain it, if you can."

Ash opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Come on Ash, give me one good reason that justified you acting that way."

"Well…I saw Misty first so I naturally went over to see if she was alright."

"True, but the amount of concern you displayed was disproportionate to the situation at hand. I was in the same predicament, but you didn't shake me or say 'Brock, wake up'."

Ash paused, trying to come up with an answer that didn't sound ridiculous. "She was face-down and I didn't know if she was breathing. You were on your side."

Brock paused. "There are two problems with that explanation Ash. First, you would've been able to tell if she was breathing by looking at her back and seeing if it rose and fell. Secondly, assuming that she wasn't breathing, how would shaking her help the situation?"

Ash's face fell. Brock was right. He really didn't have an answer for why he reacted the way he did. "Okay, but that was just one time."

"Oh I've got more," Brock said, still looking angry. "You recall when we were on our way to Lavender Town and stopped by the Pokémon Tower. Your soul was separated from your body as was Pikachu's. I remember Misty and I were kneeling over you and Pikachu, thinking you were dead and when you woke up, the first thing you said was 'Hey Misty, sorry I worried you'. Did you say a thing to me? No!"

"Again, Misty was the first person I saw, so I responded to her first. And besides, she was almost crying, so I knew she was worried about me. You were more worried about Pikachu!" Ash said, glaring back at Brock.

"But I asked what happened to you, thereby showing that I was concerned about you too."

"Oh yeah…"

"You were even worried about her when the Squirtle Squad threatened to change Misty's hair color. Her HAIR COLOR Ash! Why the hell would you care what color her hair is especially when she could've easily changed it back?"

Ash blushed, realizing now how trivial it seemed.

"I…just couldn't imagine her with any other color hair."

"No, bull crap! Again, she could've easily changed it back and it wasn't like they threatened to kill her."

"Okay, I admit that was a little silly. But why do you care? They didn't threaten you."

"All I'm saying is that you had no reason to get riled up over something that small. Oh, and let's not forget the incident with Celebi. You remember us running from those dark pokémon. Misty twisted her knee and was barely able to walk let alone run. So you got in front of her and, in a show of grand stupidity, spread your arms out to try to protect her, knowing full well that there wasn't a thing you, as a human, could do to stop them."

"Well, you certainly weren't doing anything and I couldn't let her get hurt. I had to do something!"

"Yes, but there were other alternatives to unnecessarily throwing your life away. You could've picked her up and kept running or just pushed her out of the way," Brock countered.

"Do you really think I was worrying about that at the time? Misty was in danger and I had to make a quick decision about how to keep her safe!"

"Keep HER safe, but what about me, or Sam or Celebi? We were there too and we were in just as much danger as Misty!"

Ash was about to retort, but instead lowered his head and said nothing.

"Why were you so concerned with Misty to the apparent exclusion of the rest of the group? What made you act so recklessly in order to protect one person?" Brock asked, looking at Ash with a mixture of inquisitiveness and irritation.

"I…I don't know. I guess it was instinct."

Misty, who had shown no reaction up until this point, looked over at Ash in surprise.

Brock smirked. "Oh so now you say you acted on instinct! Do you know what that means?"

Ash looked back up at his friend. "No, what?"

"It means you're an animal! Because only animals make decisions based on instinct."

"What? I'm not an animal! I just…"

"You mean you just developed this compulsion, this instinct, to protect Misty when you felt she was in danger?"

"Yeah!"

Misty smiled at Ash. _He really does care about me_

"And again I ask, what about your 'instinct' to protect me, or your 'instinct' to protect Pikachu?"

"Hey, I care about Pikachu just as much as you two, possibly more so!" Ash said angrily. "You know how many times I've risked my life to save him!"

"Yes, that's true. I take that back."

"And as for you, you've never really needed protection. You've always been able to take care of yourself."

"Not always. You remember during Johto when I was sick?"

"Yes, and I also remember that I took care of you!" Ash said proudly. "See? I do care about you."

"Alright, I suppose I'm done with you, for now. Okay Misty, now it's your turn."

"Oh come on Brock, is this really necessary?" Misty asked.

"Yes it is!" Brock said, the anger quickly returning to his voice. "Now, do you remember when we were at the Maiden's Peak festival?"

"Yes. You were put under a spell and Ash and I both did our best to try to help you."

"For a while yes. But when Gastly revealed himself, any concern you may've had for me vanished because I saw you clinging to Ash almost the whole time."

"Well, I was scared and he was the only thing I could cling to. You were still out of it and I couldn't go and seek comfort from Jessie or James."

"But still, you could've at least mentioned me during the ordeal."

"I…I'm sorry-" Misty started.

"No, no! Sorry isn't going to cut it! You need to give me a reasonable explanation as to why you failed to mention my plight. I understand it was in the heat of battle, but my problem was what led up to it. I think that warrants at least a reference to me!"

She was silent, unable to think of a reason.

"And here's another instance. We were separated. You and Jessie somehow ended up switching groups. When you saw us, you and Ash ran to each other. Both of you just lit up! Yet you Misty didn't say anything to me or give any indication that you were even worried about me during the time we were separated! Can you explain that?"

"I…don't know. I guess I didn't feel I had to worry about you. I mean, you're the oldest and the most responsible, so I figured you'd be fine."

"But I'm still your best friend, supposedly. It would've been nice to know you worried about me at least a little!"

Again, Misty was silent.

"Now back to you Ash," Brock said, turning to him.

"I thought we were done," Ash said, looking slightly annoyed.

"Oh no. I was only getting started with you. This isn't about you worrying over Misty though. This is about your jealousy issues."

"Jealousy issues? I never get jealous," Ash said.

Brock actually laughed out loud. "That's funny Ash! Do you remember when Misty entered that princess contest?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Why did you think Misty wanted to win the contest so badly?"

Ash was taken aback, stuttering for an answer.

"Well Ash? I'm waiting," Brock said smirking.

"I thought that she wanted to take that picture with Fiorello…" Ash said averting his eyes from Brock and Misty.

"And you didn't like that, did you? You turned out to be wrong, but why would you get upset over Misty taking a picture with another guy?"

"I didn't like the idea of the contest in the first place!" Ash protested. "It was all about looks, not about personality and you know how I feel about putting appearance over character."

"That's not gonna work Ash. If you had protested Misty being in the contest for that reason, or even without qualifying why you were upset, I might believe you. But you specifically took issue with her taking a picture with another guy. You didn't even equate Misty winning with her getting the doll set until she told you so. All you thought about was her being with a male who wasn't you."

Ash had his head down and was blushing madly. Suddenly, he looked up at Brock, smiling. "Wait a minute Brock. You just said that I was angry because Misty was going to be with a guy who wasn't me. You're not me and you and Misty have been alone countless times."

"That's true, but you know I would never do anything to Misty because I don't think about her in that way. You didn't know that about Fiorello," Brock said.

Ash's smile faded almost instantly.

"That's not the only instance you've shown jealousy with regard to Misty. When you were in the Orange Islands on Danny's island, you reacted even stronger than with Fiorello."

"How would you know? You weren't even there!" Ash said.

"I talked to Tracey and he told me about it. Am I correct that you were so angry that Misty was showing concern over Danny that you actually slipped and nearly fell off a mountain?"

"Hey, I'm her friend! Why should she be worrying over someone she doesn't even know more than her best friend?" Ash asked indignantly.

"I suppose you're right. But let's say it was Prima rather than Danny. Her behavior probably would've been essentially the same. Would you have been nearly as upset?" Brock asked.

"Probably," Ash said, sounding less sure than he wanted to.

"Not only that, but from what Tracey told me, when you saw that Misty was worrying over Danny you said, 'What she's so worried about HIM for?' You made it a point that she was paying attention to a 'he'."

Ash glared at Brock. "Okay, you got me! Maybe I was jealous! But why would you care?"

"Because you only get upset when someone else pays attention to _Misty._ When someone takes a romantic interest in me, you don't seem to care. You never think 'oh now that Brock has a significant other, that means he won't have as much time to spend with me.' Why is that?"

"Because…"Ash stopped short. Misty was looking at him intently, waiting for an answer.

"Because…" Brock prompted.

"Because nothing," Ash said. Misty seemed to be disappointed and turned away from him.

"Okay then. Misty, you have the same problem. When another girl shows interest in Ash, you go ballistic. I've seen it and Tracey has seen it."

"Well, those girls don't know him and some of them are way too forward. I'm just trying to look out for him."

"Misty, that's a lie and you know it. If that was true, then why, when Macy asked Ash out, did you say he was 'booked'? That's not concern, that's possessiveness."

Misty looked down, blushing. Ash looked at her, intrigued.

"But that's not the worst of it! You two argue incessantly over the stupidest, most trivial things and either I or Pikachu have to break it up. Yet when push comes to shove, you two are always there for each other, and push me to the side! Do you realize how messed up that is?"

"Okay, we get it," Misty said.

"Yeah, we're sorry Brock. We didn't realize," Ash said.

Brock seemed to finally calm down. "Well, now you do."

"Can we go back inside now?" Misty asked.

"No. You still haven't answered my original question. Why do you two seem to care so much for each other?"

"We're best friends, isn't that answer enough?" Ash asked.

"No, because if that was the case, you two would show at least as much concern for me as you do for each other since we're all best friends, but you obviously don't. Why?"

The two didn't say anything at first.

"We can stand here all day, because none of us are going anywhere until the question is answered."

When both remained silent, Brock turned to Misty. "Alright Misty, we'll go one at a time, starting with you. Why do you show so much concern for Ash?"

"I…I…do I have to say it out loud?" Misty asked in desperation.

"Yes you do. We all have to hear it," Brock said.

"…I love him…" she muttered.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you." Brock said.

"I love him," she repeated, loud enough for both to hear.

Ash turned to her, shocked. _What did she just say?_

Brock smiled and then turned to Ash. "Ash, what about you? Do you feel the same?"

Ash looked at Brock, still reeling from what Misty said. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. "You're asking if I…love Misty?"

"Yes. I thought that was clear. Do you love Misty?" he asked.

He paused for a few seconds, looking at the ground. When he looked back up, Ash turned to Misty, smiling. "Yes, I do."

Misty turned to Ash and beamed.

"Good. Since that's finally been resolved, you two can go inside."

"Wait a minute. That's it? What about all that stuff about us not paying enough attention to you?" Misty asked.

"Oh. Well, that was all just an act. Remember the question was why do you two care so much about each other and the answer was that you love each other. All that other stuff was just a way to get you to think seriously about your relationship and finally admit what everyone else already knew."

"So let me get this straight. You forced me to reveal my deepest, darkest secret by taking me on a guilt trip and none of it was genuine?" Misty asked, looking at Brock with unbridled rage.

"Well, yeah," Brock said, looking a little nervous.

"Brock, start running," Ash said, looking just as angry as Misty.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Ash and Misty both pulled out huge mallets from nowhere.

"You have ten seconds," Misty said.

"Come on guys, isn't this a little extreme?"

"Five seconds," Ash said.

Brock took off running. Ash and Misty turned to each other and smirked. They ran after him and after about ten minutes, caught and beat the living crap out of him.

"That's what you get, you lying jerk!" Misty said to Brock's unconscious form.

"Can you believe him? Making us feel guilty and then embarrassing us like that?" Ash said.

"Yeah, what a jackass. Come on Ash, let's get him inside," Misty said, picking him up by his arms.

* * *

They carried him in and laid him on the couch. The two then went to Ash's room.

"So…did you mean what you said?" Ash asked, blushing.

"Yeah…" she answered, her face just as red. "Did you?" Ash nodded.

"So all that stuff about the bike-" Ash started.

"That was just an excuse to stay with you. Were you really jealous of Danny?" Misty asked.

"And Fiorello and Rudy and any other guy you showed an interest in or who showed an interest in you. I thought, 'I'm her best friend and I'm the one who likes her. Why does she go for all those other guys and not me?'"

"I liked you more than any other guy. I just…never had the courage to say so because I thought you'd reject me."

"Well with you taking a liking to Danny and Rudy, I thought for sure that you didn't like me in that way. I guess you were jealous of Macy and Melody too, huh?"

"Oh yeah. I had no idea why, but I just couldn't stand the thought of another girl all over you."

"I wasn't too thrilled with the idea either." The two laughed.

"What about what Brock said about your…instincts?" she asked.

"Oh. Well, I knew you were a tough girl but for some reason, whenever I thought about you in danger or getting hurt, it scared me. So in order to keep that from happening and to keep from feeling that way, I did whatever I could to protect you."

Ash and Misty smiled at each other, just enjoying the moment.

"I've wanted to say this for so long and I technically still haven't done it, so here it is. I love you Ash," Misty said.

"I love you too Misty," he said.

They looked into each other's eyes, slowly moving closer. Their lips touched and the two shared a heartfelt kiss. When they pulled away, Misty looked a little disappointed.

"Mist, what's wrong?" Ash asked.

"I know that wasn't your first kiss. I guess I just feel a little…cheated. I know that sounds silly."

"Hey, as far as I'm concerned, that was my first kiss. The one with Latias doesn't really count because I didn't want it or return it."

"Thanks Ash," she said. She gave him an adoring smile which he returned.

Ash pulled her into a loving hug. "I love you Mist."

"I love you too," she said softly.

* * *

Later that day, Brock was back at the kitchen table.

"So, did you accomplish your mission?" a voice asked from across the table.

"Yep, they finally confessed," Brock said.

"Good. Here is your reward." The person handed Brock a clip of money.

"Thanks Delia. With this 500 bucks, I can finally put a down payment on that breeding center I plan to build."

"You're welcome. It's about time those two realize just how much they care about each other."

"I know what you mean."

As Brock walked out of the kitchen, he had one last thought in his mind. _Now if only I could find a girl that easily…_


End file.
